A pleasant hike this morning along easy to see and traverse trails. The only portion of today's route that needs some attention is located on the Talley Valley trail; the vegetation needs to be groomed but the trail is easy to see and hike on.

Not much animal activity this morning although I saw a couple of Loggerhead Shrikes at different places on the trails (first in some time), a rather large hawk sitting in a tree a distance away (unknown what type) and at the end of our hike, a Red-tailed Hawk sitting in a tree at Burkett Park .

Also spotted was a good sized Horned Toad, numerous dragonflies and some small birds. While on Red Dam Loop, there is a patch where large numbers of thistle and sunflower plants are in bloom. The buzzing of bees was very loud but I didn't see too many flying around. Caution is advised when going through this area.

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